How Do You Holiday?

[mrs.daytona]

It sure is beautiful. So...my sister-in-law and her husband have been renting a cabin at Zephyr Point for many years. We went last year with them, but it was 2 weeks before Christmas. Absolutely beautiful. We decided to spend Christmas there this year after losing some family that makes a Christmas at home seem somewhat sad. Invited my mom...who surprisingly happily agreed to come. We'll be there for a week.

Another change is...this year we will be driving up from Lubbock, TX - we're going to leave a few days early and make a mini-vacation out of the drive also. We'll be within 100 miles of Havasu, so I'm sure we're going to have to stop there. Hope it'll be as fun as it sounds.

Sorry to hear that. Sometimes a change of pace can be a good thing. Enjoy the trip with your family, sounds like a lot of fun to me!

[Eli]

Christmas Eve is HUGE with my family. As I've said before I'm the baby of 9, there are 8 left, I've lost count on grand kids, nieces and nephews. Just a round figure with family and friends it's close to 50/60. My parents use to host at their home, huge family room, since they have passed my oldest brother hosts it each year, his home is HUGE, 7700 SQ FT, single story huge, LOL!! We are traditional Sicilian/Italian, Ciopino, Linguini and Clams, Clams on the half shell(I'm one of two that has this art mastered, shucking), crab/shrimp cocktails, Lasagna, Stuffed Shells, Prime Rib(my contribution), every side you could think of and of course enough wine to start our own winery.

Christmas Day is much quieter, I spend it with my son, GF and her family. Friends come by later for a very quiet dinner that I prepare, this year I'll do Chicken Parmigiana, green salad, a veggie and dessert.

I love this time of the year.

Sounds like fun! followed by relaxing!

From the Fireball website... SOunds like something nice to try... All this talk of FIREBALL has piqued my curiosity... Maybe mix in some brown sugar into warm apple juice, brown sugar is the key/secret ingredient to GOOD apple pie...

Christmas Hug
The perfect drink to get you in the christmas spirit ! Like eating a warm spicy apple pie on christmas morning
•1 part Fireball Whisky
•2 parts apple juice
•1 part cranberry juice
•Mix them together

Glass Type: Short Glass
Mood: Christmas, Warm, Winter nights
Occasion: Nights in november / december !
Contributor: Josh "Christmas hugging" Crabb

Sweaty Balls are Sweaty Balls no matter how much you doctor it up

In the office, I take my team to a Holiday Lunch (company pays), then they each get a bottle of wine (my pocket book).

At home, we do Christmas. Christmas Eve is very relaxing (just the wife, daughter and me). Christmas morning my daughter opens her gifts. My step-sons return from my wife ex in the late afternoon and they open gifts then we have a family meal (usually something from the Mesa Grill cook book) then we hit the road. We spend the week after Christmas snowboarding in Denver. That has been the family tradition for the last 10 years.

Sounds like fun!

Traditions make all the difference!!!

Here, at the Millers' we have many that we have faithfully continued for decades.
* The last Monday night before Christmas, our entire family gathers to go caroling.
* We also hold a Birthday party for Baby Jesus - cake and all on Christmas eve
* At midnight, on Christmas eve, we head out to our favorite tradition of all which we don't talk about publicly. It's totally anonymous and our kids/grandkids look forward to this one far more than opening presents of their own the following Christmas morning. Suffice it to say that we never spend a penny of our change all year long. It goes in a jar for this "special project." On Thanksgiving night we dump the bottle of change, count, sort and roll it for this special project. I took the rolled coins into the bank today and it was well over half a grand! Makes the project all the more special.

We have others but, you get the drift. Traditions are really important to us.

That's a great tradition. We need to start something like that…minus the singing, I sound like a dying seagull.

[Eli]

My family's Christmas dinner went from December 24, to December 26, to December 20 and now I don't know when…I'm thrilled we have a new addition adding to the chaos, but I wish we didn't have so many high maintenance adults unable to figure out why they cannot agree to a date, specially when I'm doing all the shopping and cooking. :(

[hbchgirl]

My family's Christmas dinner went from December 24, to December 26, to December 20 and now I don't know when…I'm thrilled we have a new addition adding to the chaos, but I wish we didn't have so many high maintenance adults unable to figure out why they cannot agree to a date, specially when I'm doing all the shopping and cooking. :(

Tis' the season! lol

[Eli]

Tis' the season! lol

Now it was moved to Friday the 27...Tis' the season :(

It's been moved bc my BILs grandma doesn't want to do it with my BILs mom. Ugh!

[RogerThat99]

We do an Italian dinner on Christmas Eve at my inlaws (this is the only holiday meal of the year that isn't at our house). Then we have a traditional dinner on the 25th. Then the 27th is my Daughter's birthday. Then off to Camp Far West for New Years.

[Eli]

We do an Italian dinner on Christmas Eve at my inlaws (this is the only holiday meal of the year that isn't at our house). Then we have a traditional dinner on the 25th. Then the 27th is my Daughter's birthday. Then off to Camp Far West for New Years.

Can't be too far west

Sounds like fun. What on the menu?

[Wendi]

We do an Italian dinner on Christmas Eve at my inlaws (this is the only holiday meal of the year that isn't at our house). Then we have a traditional dinner on the 25th. Then the 27th is my Daughter's birthday. Then off to Camp Far West for New Years.

Our sons Birthday is the 27th as well!!

[Wendi]

Our tradition is changing this year and not for the better. Not looking forward to this year!!

[Eli]

Our tradition is changing this year and not for the better. Not looking forward to this year!!

Yea me too! G-ma is being the stubborn one insisting it can't be on the week day and it can't be on Saturday the 28. My sisters, mom and BILs are gonna just do a Chinese food and watch movies!